The national palace Malaysia announced that  Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has appointed former Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob as new Prime Minister of the country.  Sabri is scheduled to be sworn in on Saturday.

In a statement on Friday, the national palace said Sabri had received the backing of 114 out of the 220 MPs in the lower house of Parliament, a simple majority to form the government, hence Sultan Abdullah agreed to appoint him as the Prime Minister in accordance with the Constitution, as per reports. His appointment comes as Malaysia is mired in a political turmoil despite a dire situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. "His Majesty expressed his view with the appointment of the Prime Minister, the government must continue its efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic immediately for the benefit and security of the people and the well-being of the country, which is greatly affected by the crisis and the threat caused by the pandemic," the national palace said in the statement.

Malaysia saw a new record high of daily cases for the third consecutive day with 23,564 reported on Friday, bringing the national total to 1,513,024.

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